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turbulentfurball
Right Honourable Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Québec
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2006-04-20, 07:50

I'm almost finished my 10,000 word dissertation on the subject of RFID tags; the benefits brought by them, and the difficulties encountered by organisations which have implemented the technology.

I've found that one of the most significant problems encountered, was the the negative public perceptions of the technology with regard to privacy issues. I currently have a neutral point of view, since I can see the massive benefits that RFID can bring, but I have also found some pretty disturbing uses of the technology. For example, Tesco and Gillette carried out a joint trial which involved the activation of the RFID tag bringing up CCTV images of the customers who removed the Gillette blades from the 'smart shelf'. I found that pretty astounding. However, from a purely business perspective, RFID may be one of the most significant technological advances for a number of years. The focus of my study was on supply chain management, which is the focus of my degree, and the benefits in that industry are astounding; near complete visibility of items throughout the supply chain, a decrease in spoilage, a decrease in theft, a decrease in labour costs, and most significantly increased availability of goods in stores with a resulting increase in sales.

My question is: What do you think of RFID?
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